Horseshoe-nail



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1..

D. E. KEMPSTER.

HORSESHOE NAIL.

' Patented Jan. 14,1896.V

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m.. L. TM NN Mw BH s Km E0 .E D m. d 0 M 0 m APaaented Jan. V14, 1896.

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-MT-ESEES UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

DANIEL E. KEMPSTER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

HORSESHOE-NAIL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,167, dated January14, 1896. Application filed October 10, 1889. Serial No. 326,593. (Nomodel.)

T0 a/ZZ whom t may con/cern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL E. KEMPSTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Boston, in the county of Suolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Horseshoe-Nails andBlanks Therefor; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to nails for fastening shoes upon thefeet ofanimals, and especially to that class of such nails as are sheared orclipped to form the point of the nail.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved nail of the aboveclass and an improved method of manufacture, whereby the nails can bemade more economically and cheaper than heretofore.

My invention consists, first, in new animalshoe nail-blanks of peculiarshape or form of `construction, as will be fully described hereinafter.

My invention further consists in a new form of animal-shoe nail,characterized by a fiattened face and back, and combined laterallycurved or rounded and iiat or square side edges and a beveled point.

My invention further consists in the hereinafter described improvedmethod of manufacture, whereby a new form of nail or article ofmanufacture is produced embodying superior qualities.

My invention further consists in other new features, all of which willbe fully described, and pointed out in the claims at the end of thisspecification.

In the drawings hereto annexed and forming part of this specificationsimilar letters of reference indicate similar parts wherever they occurthereon.

Figure l represents a side view of a single aniInal-shoe nail-blankhaving circular crosssectional area throughout and the metal distributedtherein in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a side edge view ofsaid nail-blank after being attened to the proper thickness of aiinished nail and indented to form the beveled point. Fig. 3 is a faceview of the same. Fig. is a face view of the same after being sheared orclipped to form the tapering point of the finished nail, and also showsthe waste metal or clipping. Fig. 5 is a side edge view of the finishednail, showing the combined laterally curved or rounded and fiat orsquare surfaces thereon. Fig. 6 is a side view of a duplex or twinanimal-shoe nail-blank having circular cross sectional area throughoutand the metal distributed therein in accordance with my invention. Fig.7 is a face view of the same after being flattened and indented for thebeveled points. Fig. 8 is a face view of the same after being sheared orclipped to form the tapering points of two finished nails, and alsoshows the waste metal or clipping. Fig. 9 is a side view of a modiedform of my improved duplex or twin nail-blank. Fig. 10 is a face view ofa attened duplex or twin nail-blank sheared or clipped apart in adierent manner from that shown in Fig'. 7. Fig. 1l is a face view of afinished nail from said nail-blank in Fig. l() after having its' pointbeveled and thrown over central with its blade or shank. Fig. l2 is anenlarged face view of my improved nail. Fig. 13 is an enlarged side edgeview of the same. Figs. la to 18, inclusive, represent enlargedcross-sectional views ofdifferent part-s of the blade or shank of myimproved nail on the respective lines 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, and showplainly the gradual order of progression and change in form of the bladeor shank of the nail and the consequentform of the hole made therebywhen driven into the hoof.

Iwould state that for convenience in making the drawings I have shownthe flattened nail in Figs. 2, 5, and 13 as straight edgewise but itshould be understood that in practice the nails when flattened andstiffened are also given the proper curvature or set required for thisclass of nails, as will readily be understood by those skilled in theart to which said nails appertain.

In the drawings, a, a d, respectively, repre sent single and duplexround nail-blanks, which may be formed cold by swaging or upsetting theends of wire blanks to form heads thereon in the old and well-knownmanner of making wire nails, or they may be made from hot metal by anysuitable mechanism for IOC forging them -into shape, and they may, if

preferred, have their blade or shank portion formed straightlongitudinally instead of tapering, as shown. p

l prefer to form the nail-blanks substantially as shown, with head andshank-forming portions circular in cross-sectional area, theshank-forming portion of greater length than the shank of the finishednail, and tapering so as to reduce the percentage of waste metal to aminimum in clipping or finishing the nail. The head-forming portion andpreferably the greater part of the shank-forming portion adjoining thehead are formed substantially equal in cross-sectional area to the sameportions of the finished nail, the remainder of the shank-formingportion being formed larger in cross-sectional area than the sameportion of the shank of the finished nail, so that when the blank isflattened to the proper thickness ed gewise it will leave a small marginof metal around the edges to be removed or cut therefrom to produce thetapering point of the finished nail. l

a', a a are respectively single and duplex flattened nail-blanks afterbeing brought to the proper thickness and taper edgewise of the finishednail by compression, preferably when cold to temper or stiffen them,between die-surfaces suitably shaped for this purpose. Theflattening-die which forms the face of the nail, may also, if preferred,be provided with a projection, the converse of the indentation a, (shownin the point part of the fiattened nail-blanks in Figs. 2, 3, and 7,)and thereby indent the metal in the flattening operation, to form thebeveled point of the nail when clipped.;v

b is the complete or finished nail after being sheared or clipped bysuitable dies or cutters, and, as shown in this drawings,has a flattenedface and back, a head portion flush with the back and projectinglaterally from the face and two side edges, a tapering blade or shankportion of greater width than thickness, said portion having laterallycurved or rounded side edges, a point portion tapering widthwise andhaving laterally-flat or square side edges, and a beveled point, therebyconstituting a new form of nail in which the side edges have laterallycurved or rounded surfaces combined with fiat or square surfaces, whichunion imparts tothe nails new qualities or characteristics not found inany other nail.

It has been found in practical shoeing that some hoofs are much harderand more brittle than others and very difficult to drive a nail intowithout splitting or rupturing the hoof so as to roughen its surface andmake it unsightly in appearance. Such hoofs are more easily penetratedby nails having thin, smooth, fiat or square edged gradually-taperingpoints, such as are attained by shearing or clipping the nails; but suchflat or square edged nails, when fully driven into the hoof,

owing to their cross-sectional size and shape,

rupture and displace the horny fibers or substance of the hoof and causethe nail-holes therein to be larger than necessary to receive the nails,which is objectionable aside from the unsightly appearance, inasmuch asit impairs the power of the clinch on the nail to hold the shoe tightlyto the hoof, for it is found in practice that hard and brittle hoofs donot conform to the surface of nails which are rectangular incross-section when completely driven, and this is due to the fact thatthe hoof is madeup of layers of horny substance, which layers areapproximately edgewise to the tread-surface of the hoof and tend toseparate under the wedge-like pressure of the body of a nail that issquare cornered. These objections have been eliminated by forming theshank of the nail in cross-section with two opposite flat sides and twoopposite curvedror rounded sides, substantially as set forth in thePatent No. 417,490, issued to me December 17,1889. Nails of thisdescription when fully driven into ahard hoof do not rupture the fiberthereof, but leave the surface of the hoof smooth and of neat appearanceand the nail-holes therein small, so as to closely hug the roundedcorners of the shank of the nail and assist the clinch of the nail insecurely holding the shoe. It is difficult, however, to automaticallyforge these nails from hot metal with points uniform in size and shape,as said points will necessarily run heavy and light, according as themetal varies in heat, and consequently to insure perfectly uniformeasydriving nails l now shear or clip the points of the curved-edgedShanks when cold.

Hitherto all fiat-edged shanks have been laterally flat from head topoint and the sheared or tapering surfaces thereof have been the fullwidth of the thickness of the shank; but in my present nail thelaterallyat tapering surfaces of the sheared edges gradually merge intothe laterally curved or rounded edges of the shank, as shown at c inFig. 13, and this gradually merging of the flat sheared edges must beabout midway of the shank of the nail and is essential in the preferredform 0f my nail to form the shank of the nail the proper taper widthwiseand to prevent the formation of shoulders on the side edges of the nail.

Were the laterally curved or rounded edges of the nail shown in myPatent No. 417,490 sheared or clipped merely in the old way practiced onlaterally-flat or square-edged blanksthat is, so as to form flat-edgesurfaces of the full width of the thickness of the shank-a shoulderwould be necessarily produced on both side edges of the nail, as will beplain to all skilled in the art.

My new improved nail presented in this apv plication', while combiningin itself the structural advantages possessed by both a nail having aflattened face and back and laterally curved or rounded side edges, anda nail having a laterally-flat or square-edged easydriving point formedby shearing, also pos- IOO IIC

sesses a new and additional quality, characteristic or function notfound in either of the abovenails separately, but which is a new resultarising from the union of the elements found in both-as, forinstance,myimproved nail when driven into a hard and brittle hoof` easilypenetrates the same, forming a small hole of rectangular area until ithas entered the hoof to about midway or thereabouts of the length of theblade or shank of the nail and then, by reason of the peculiar shape orform of its side edges, as clearly shown in Figs. 12 to 18, inclusive,enlarges the hole and changes its cross-sectional form by graduallyexpanding and rounding the corners thereof, thereby causing the nail toprogressively eX- paud the hoof substance without splitting or rupturingthe same and insuring the driving of the nail with the least possibleamount of power.

b is the superflous metal or clipping removed from the point of thenail, and which might extend the length of the blade or shank, or eventhe entire length of the nail, if it were desirable to form the nails4with square corners or edges; but for reasons already pointed out Iprefer to shear or clip the nails, as shown, with less waste of metal.

It is evident the indentation a in the point part of the nail-blankmight extend entirely across the blank if so desired; but Iprefer toindent it as shown, as thereby the metal forming the beveled point ofthe nail is condensed and hardened without harmfully spreading thefibers thereof, the side walls of metal around the indentation helpingto sustain the central portion or bevel from spreading laterally. Italso requires less power to bevel the point in this manner than ifcompressing the metal across the entire nail-blank.

The round nail-blanks may be formed singly or in series by any suitablemechanism, and, as before stated, from either hot or cold metal as mayseem preferable for the quality of nail desired to make. I prefer tomake them from hot metal by a process of roll-forging shown anddescribed in the Patent No. 427,030, issued to me April 29, 1890,wherein the nailblanks are automatically forged into shape by continuouspressure and rotation of the metal between converging die-surfacescorresponding in crosssection to and the converse of the longitudinalconfiguration of one-half, more or less, of the round nail or nails, asthe case may be.

As fully described in the patents hereinbefore referred to, byroll-forging or cross-rolling the metal into circular cross-section toform the round nail-blanks, the grain or fibers of the metal arecondensed and twisted together similar to that shown in dotted lines inFig. l, thus knitting the metal firmly together, giving great strengthand toughness to the nails, and effectually precludes the possibility ofsaid nails ever slivering or splitting at the point when being driveninto the hoof,

to the great detriment and injury of the animal being shod thereby.

Heretofore animal-shoe nails having sheared or clipped points, owing toflaws or laminations in the nail engendered by the process of workingthe metal cold in making the nail, have been very liable to the greatobjection of slivering or splitting at the point when being driven,especially if driven into a hard brittle hoof; but with my improvedconstruction of nail the admirable driving qualities and uniformity oftaper and finish of sheared or clipped points are retained and theirdisadvantage or liability to split points is entirely eliminated, andwhile retaining all the superior qualities of forged nails, such asgreat strength, toughness and clinching quality, yet the disadvantage oftheir inferior driving qnalityincident to forged points is completelyremoved.

By referring to the drawings it will be seen that my improved nail isattened upon its face and back to taper, stiften, and give it the properthickness edgewise, the side" edges of the body of the blade or shankare smoothly curved or rounded laterally, and the point portion issheared or clipped, forming a uniform, gradually-tapering and beveledpoint having smooth laterally iiat or square side edges extendingapproximately midway the length of the shank and gradually merging intothe laterally curved or rounded side edges thereof, thus well adaptingthe nail for handling and easy driving into the hardest hoof, as beforedescribed.

My improvement in the art of making nails consisting in the combinedoperations of first forming a headed nail-blank having circularcross-section throughout, flattening and indenting the blank, andshearing or clipping the point portion, substantially as hereinbeforedescribed, constitutes a new and useful method of manufacture, producingnew results-viz. a new form of nail having new and peculiarcharacteristics, making a more serviceable and better nail, and alsoresulting in great economy and reduction in the costs of producing nailsof this class.

I prefer to make the nail-blanks in duplex form, as shown in Figs. 6 or9, as by so doing the capacity of the blankforming, attening andshearing or pointing machine is doubled. Half the labor of handling themetal is saved, and there is also much less waste metal.

When using duplex nail-blanks similar to that shown in Fig. 9, the diesfor fiattening said blank will be shaped accordingly and be providedwith suitable projections for forming the point indentations or bevelstherein, and the dies for shearing or clipping the points of the nailsmay have combined therewith suitable dies or cutters for cutting apartor separating the two nails at one and the same operation by which theyare clipped or finished.

In Fig. l0 is shown the fiattened duplex nail- IOO IIO

blank cut apart by a diagonal cut acrossY the middle of the blade orshank portion thereof, thereby bringing the two nails to a point withoutwaste of metal, with each nail having one laterally curved lor roundededge and one combined laterally curved or rounded and dat or squareedge, and in some cases this might be a desirable way of cutting themapart; but I prefer to operate upon the nails as irst described andshown in Figs. 4 and 8, as by so doing I avoid the expense of theadditional operation of throwing the sheared point of the nail around inline with the center of the blade or shank and bevelin g the point, asshown in Fig. 11.

I do not consider it necessary in this application to minutely describethe dies or mechanism for carrying out my improved method in themanufacture of my improved nail, as such dies or mechanism forms no partof this invention.

It is of course evident that some parts of the nail or nail-blank may beslightly varied in form from that shown and described herein withoutdeparting from or evading the essential features and spirit of myinvention.

The metal of which my new nail is composed is altered elementally or inrespect of its molecular condition by forces applied in iiattening,curving, compressing and clipping the various portions of the nail. Thecompressed bevel is rendered by myprocess of a proper elemental ormolecular condition for that part of the nail-point, and the edgeinclines, which disappear approximately midway of the shank, are given apeculiar molecular or elemental condition, owing to the fact that theyare formed by clipping instead of by swaging. It will be plain to thoseskilled in the art that when my new method is practiced the materialoperated on to produce the nail is changed several times, at differentparts of the nail, in respect of molecular or elemental condition.

I have found that in practice animal-shoe nails of the configuration andvarying molecular condition described drive with greater ease, take thedesired direction through the hoof with greater certainty, and clinchbetter than any other nail known to me. In my method, Patent No.429,036, I show, in Figs. 32 and 33, a nail-point compressed or swagedon all four sides to form a beveled point, the edge incline shownbeginning to disappear in the rounded side edge, wherethe facebevelbegins its downward slope toward the point. My nail shown in thispresent application is radically different from that nail which is madeby a wholly different process. My present nail is substantiallydifferent from that nail in coniguration and molecular condition, thedifference in configuration and the fact that my present edge inclinesare clipped producing a wholly different article of manufacture, easilydistinguishable at a glance from my patentednail. My present nail',owing to its flat clipped edge inclines, makes in the hoof a hole whichis entirely different in cross-section from the hole made by the nailshown in my Patent No. 426,036. It does its work gradually, because ofits long tapered point, which forms a rectangular holethat is changedgradually in form by the rounded side edges of the shank merging withthe inclines at or near the middle of the shank. The nail shown in Figs.32 and 33 of my said patent does its workof penetrating and changing thehoof-hole in cross-section at its extreme point, sometimes crippling andthereby injuring the animal, andV always requiring unnecessary force indriving.

Having thus fully described the object, nature, and construction of myinvention, I wish to secure by Letters Patent and claim- 1. As a newarticle of manufacture, the improved animal-shoe nail herein describedhaving a flattened face and back and side edges laterally curved orrounded from the head to substantially midway the shank and theremainder of the side edges sheared or clipped flat, the sheared orclipped iat portions of the shank gradually merging into the laterallycurved or rounded edges, substantially as set forth.

2. As a new article of manufacture, the improved animal-shoe nail hereindescribed characterized by a flattened face, and back; side edges whichare curved or rounded laterally from the head to substantially midwaythe shank; iiat side edges from substantially midway the shank to thepoint; and a point beveled on its face, substantially as set forth.

3. A beveled-pointed animal-shoe nail of greater width than thickness,having the head and shank flattened on the face and back, and the shanktapering widthwise smaller toward the point with two taperssubstantially as shown, the tapering part adjoining the head havinglaterally curved or rounded side edges, and the tapering part adjoiningthe point having laterally flat or square-side edges eX- tendingapproximately midway the length of the shank and merging into thelaterally curved or rounded side edges thereof, substantially as setforth.

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4t. An animal-shoe nail having the head and part of the shank adjoiningthe head formed in cross-section with two opposite flat sides and twoopposite curved or rounded edges, and the remaining part of the shankformed in cross-.section with two flat sides and two flat edges,substantially as set forth.

5. As a new article 0f manufacture, an animal-shoe nail having a head,the back of which is flat and iiush with the back of the shank, which isalso flat, the head being also flat on its face, but projecting beyondthe flat intersecting face of the nail, the edges of the head and shankbeing laterally curved, the face of the nail being beveled at the point,and the edges inclined at the point for a portion of the length of theshank above the bevel, these inclines being fiat and diminishingupwardly in width and disappearing in the laterally curved edges of theshank, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

.6. As a new article of manufacture, the improved animal shoe nailherein described, having a flattened face and back; a face bevel; sideedges which are curved or rounded laterally from the head toward thepoint to substantially midway the shank; and clipped side edges whichmerge and disappear in said rounded edges and extend therefrom to thepoint, said clipped side edges being flat, and the shank rectangular incross-section above the face bevel toward the middle of the shank,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. As a new article of manufacture, the improved animalshoenail hereindescribed, the same having a flat face and back a face bevel; roundedside edges from the middle portion of the shank toward the head; fiatside edges which merge with and disappear in the rounded side edges andextend to the point; the shank being rectangular in cross-section at thepoint and upward above the bevel; approXimately octagonal incross-section above the rectangular cross-section; and of flattened ovalcross-section above the octagonal crosssection; all in substance asshown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

S. As a new article of manufacture, an animal-shoe-nail having aflat-tened face and back, and a beveled point, the shank taperingwidthwise smaller toward the point with two edge tapers, the taperingpart adjoining the head having laterally curved or rounded side edges,and the tapering part adjoining the beveled point having laterallysheared flat side edges forming a rectangular tapering point ofsufficient length to penetrate through the hoof and then merging withthe laterally curved edges of the shank, so as to gradually change thecross-sectional shape of the hole through the hoof from rectangular tofiattish oval shape as the nail is completely driven, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL E. KEMPSTER.

Witnesses:

HENRY CHADBOURN, HERBERT L. CHAPIN.

